*Pages 1--3 from Microsoft Word - 28835* Federal Communications Commission DA 03- 2085 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D. C. 20554 In the Matter of: Corridor Television, L. L. P. v. Cable Management Associates Request for Mandatory Carriage of Television Station KBEJ( TV), Fredericksburg, Texas ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CSR- 6114- M MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: June 24, 2003 Released: June 26, 2003 By the Deputy Chief, Policy Division, Media Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. Corridor Television, L. L. P. (“ Corridor”), licensee of television broadcast station KBEJ( TV), Fredericksburg, Texas (“ KBEJ” or the “Station”) filed the above- captioned must carry complaint against Cable Management Associates (“ CMA”), for failing to carry KBEJ on its cable system serving Hallesttsville, Texas and the surrounding areas (the “cable communities”). 1 KBEJ requests that the Commission order CMA to commence carriage of KBEJ on Channel 2, its over- the- air broadcast channel. 2 No opposition to the complaint was received. II. BACKGROUND 2. Pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act and implementing rules adopted by the Commission in Implementation of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Broadcast Signal Carriage Issues (“ Must Carry Order”), commercial television broadcast stations are entitled to assert mandatory carriage rights on cable systems located within the station’s market. 3 A station’s market for this purpose is its “designated market area,” or DMA, as defined by Nielsen Media Research. 4 A DMA is a geographic market designation that defines each television market exclusive of 1 Complaint at 1. 2 Id. 3 8 FCC Rcd 2965, 2976- 2977 (1993). 4 Section 614( h)( 1)( C) of the Communications Act, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, (continued…) 1 Federal Communications Commission DA 03- 2085 2 others, based on measured viewing patterns. 3. Pursuant to the Commission’s must carry rules, cable operators have the burden of showing that a commercial station that is located in the same television market is not entitled to carriage. 5 One method of doing so is for a cable operator to establish that a subject television signal, which would otherwise be entitled to carriage, does not provide a good quality signal to a cable system’s principal headend. 6 Should a station fail to provide the required over- the- air signal quality to a cable system’s principal headend, it still may obtain carriage rights because under the Commission’s rules a television station may provide a cable operator, at the station’s expense, with specialized equipment to improve the station’s signal to an acceptable quality at a cable system’s principal headend. 7 III. DISCUSSION 4. In support of its complaint, KBEJ states that it is licensed to Fredericksburg, Texas, which is in the Austin, Texas DMA. It states further that CMA’s cable television system is also located in the Austin DMA. KBEJ contends that because it is located within the same DMA as the CMA cable system serving Hallettsville, Texas, it is entitled to mandatory carriage on CMA’s system. KBEJ asserts that it formally requested CMA to commence carriage of its signal on Channel 2 of the Hallettsville cable system on December 11, 2002. 8 KBEJ claims that CMA denied carriage of the Station arguing that it was not obligated to carry the KBEJ signal because KBEJ failed to provide a good quality signal to CMA’s Hallettsville principal headend. 9 KBEJ asserts that in its response, CMA failed to comply with Section 76.61( a)( 2) of the Commission’s rules. 10 According to KBEJ, it is committed to acquire and install any improvements and equipment needed to provide CMA with a good quality signal. 11 KBEJ requests that the Commission order CMA to commence carriage of its signal on Channel 2 of the cable system serving the cable communities. 12 5. Commercial television broadcast stations, such as KBEJ, are entitled to carriage on cable systems located in the same DMA. Cable operators, on the other hand, have the burden of showing that a (… continued from previous page) provides that a station’s market shall be determined by the Commission by regulation or order using, where available, commercial publications which delineate television markets based on viewing patterns. See 47 U. S. C. § 534( h)( 1)( C). Section 76. 55( e) of the Commission’s rules requires that a commercial broadcast television station’s market be defined by Nielsen Media Research’s DMAs. 47 C. F. R. § 76. 55( e). 5 See Must Carry Order, 8 FCC Rcd at 2990. 6 47 C. F. R. § 76.55( c)( 3). 7 Must Carry Order, 8 FCC Rcd at 2991. 8 Complaint at 1 and Exhibit A. 9 Complaint at 1 and Exhibit B. 10 Complaint at 1. Section 76. 61( a)( 2) states that if a cable operator denies carriage on the basis of the failure of the station to deliver a good quality signal at the cable system’s principal headend, the cable operator must provide a list of equipment used to take the measurements, the point of measurement and a list and detailed description of the reception and over- the- air signal processing equipment used, including sketches such as block diagrams and a description of the methodology used for processing the signal at issue. 47 C. F. R. § 76. 61( a)( 2). 11 Complaint at 1 and Exhibit A. 12 Complaint at 1. 2 Federal Communications Commission DA 03- 2085 3 commercial station that is located in the same television market is not entitled to carriage. 13 CMA has failed to meet its burden. KBEJ has committed to acquire and install, at its own expense, any and all necessary improvements and equipment needed to provide CMA with a good quality signal. KBEJ, by committing to provide any necessary equipment has satisfied its obligation to bear the costs associated with delivering a good quality signal. 14 Thus, we find that KBEJ is entitled to mandatory carriage on CMA’s Hallettsville, Texas cable system. 6. With respect to KBEJ’s channel positioning request, we find that it has properly requested carriage on Channel 2 of CMA’s Hallettsville system, the same channel number on which it is broadcast over- the- air. Pursuant to the Commission’s rules, cable operators must comply with channel positioning requirements absent a compelling technical reason. 15 Based on the foregoing, we grant KBEJ’s complaint. IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U. S. C. § 534, that the must carry complaint filed by Corridor Television, L. L. P., licensee of television broadcast station KBEJ, Fredericksburg, Texas against Cable Management Associates, LLP IS GRANTED. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Cable Management Associates SHALL COMMENCE CARRIAGE of the KBEJ signal on Channel 2 of its cable system serving Hallettsville, Texas and surrounding areas, within sixty (60) days from the date of the release of this Order. 9. This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by Section 0.283 if the Commission’s rules. 16 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Steven A. Broeckaert Deputy Chief, Policy Division Media Bureau 13 See Must Carry Order, 8 FCC Rcd at 2990. 14 See Must Carry Order, 8 FCC Rcd at 2991; see, e. g. WMPF, Inc. 11 FCC Rcd 17264 (CSB 1996); KSLS, Inc., 11 FCC Rcd 12718 (CSB 1996); see also 47 U. S. C. § 534( h)( 1)( B)( iii). 15 47 C. F. R. § 76.57; see Must Carry Order at 2988. 16 47 C. F. R. § 0.283. 3